Evidently we mere mortals are not to criticize judges. So says a judge. The judge. Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner recently complained that “rhetorical attacks” on the justice system weakened it. But what truly weakens the system is inept hubris, and Wagner embodies it.
Wagner's Annual Complaints
As Ben Woodfinden noted, Wagner’s annual news conference included familiar themes: criticizing court decisions risks casting judges as partisan actors or obstacles to the will of the people. He argued that a non-partisan judiciary sheltered from all politicization is essential to the rule of law. But politicization, in his view, includes criticism and accountability.
Wagner would not deny that others must be scrutinized and corrected. That is what he and his colleagues do from on high. Yet a bronze likeness of the sitting chief justice now stands in the Supreme Court’s entrance, paid for by an unnamed donor at an undisclosed cost. Wagner, who posed for the sculptor, says he cannot identify the donor.
The Statue and Hubris
Clearly, Wagner did not recall Cato the Elder’s wisdom: “I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue, than why I have one.” And no one dared remind him of Lord Acton’s warning: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In June 2003, then-chief justice Beverley McLachlin dismissed calls to reform judicial appointments, stating that “the sole concern should be to appoint individuals who embody the most valuable qualities of impartiality, empathy and wisdom. From where I sit, the current judiciary in Canada meets the highest standards.” From its apex, she gave herself straight A+s for intellect and character, meeting her own supercelestial standards.
The Reality of the Court System
Our court system is riddled with nightmarish delays, unaffordable procedures, and capricious rulings. Smug judges have each other’s backs and mistake fear for awe. It is not that they are necessarily worse than the rest of us, but Liberal politicians pick liberal lawyers as judges to push them further left than voters want. These judges are then subjected to indoctrination on systemic racism and systemic discrimination, which Wagner does not suspect of being politicization—just enlightenment.
Human frailty is an old and pernicious thing. After savage partisan attacks on the truckers’ convoy, Wagner refused to recuse himself, claiming he did not comment on the Emergencies Act or matters at issue. Parliament must rediscover its constitutional duty to check such judicial overreach.
